Operating Systems are the soul of any software based device and when it comes to mobiles, everyone swears by Android. But what about the desktop? Jide presents Remix OS which is as good as a desktop version of Android.
Is it any good?
If you are already using Android and familiar with it, then Remix OS is a cakewalk for you as it has been built in such a way that technically speaking, it seems as a fork of Android. They surely didn’t want to create an entirely new OS rather concentrated on keeping it as similar to Android as possible. Nonetheless, it can be easily installed as the main operating system on a second partition, or even boot straight from a USB thumb drive. The third option though is one of the strengths of the OS, because it will save data and apps directly to the USB drive. Plug that USB drive into any computer, reboot, and it becomes your personal system without any extra work.
While it seems like any other Android OS on the surface, it does have some subtle changes, the interface for example. There’s now a menu bar similar to the Windows task bar that runs the width of the display, and there’s even a Jide logo button in the bottom left to pull up an app launcher exactly like the Start Menu. Icons for applications, folders, and files live on the desktop, just like they do on Mac OS X or Windows. An advanced file explorer is also part of the package.
The usual expectations of the users are fulfilled as you can easily resize the windows. Close, full screen and minimize actions can be exercised in every app even in Google PlayStore. The cursor is something new- it is a hollow circle, which fills with every click. (First time users can easily confuse it with the loading cursor). The OS even has the right click function allowing for easy access to context menus, plus many keyboard shortcuts you are habitual of using.
The OS though does have its own share of flaws. Settings are mostly limited to traditional Android options, with less of a focus on settings that are useful for the new interface. Though the OS is polished, installing it on a system like a MacBook or Dell isn’t that appealing. The Remix OS is most useful when it’s used as a light-weight, portable operating system for special circumstances. It might used to quickly boot into a media centre, access your own files on a friend’s PC, or drive a display that can’t easily be connected to a full PC.
This doesn’t take away from the fact that there are numerous apps on the Google Play store that open up the functionality of the OS in a meaningful, useful way that Chrome OS extensions and apps can’t compete with.
So if its advantages were to be summed up, it would be that it is easy to install with an excellent keyboard and mouse support and more importantly works with most PCs. Among the disadvantages, you can count ‘not all apps working well’ as one and at this stage; substitution of Windows or OS X by Remix doesn’t seem imminent.
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Author: Technology Blog
